


it's a foregone conclusion

by ne0nbible



Category: Euphoria (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ne0nbible/pseuds/ne0nbible
Summary: Lexi's first customers don’t seem to be very intimidating, thank god. One of them looks to be around Lexi’s age, she's wearing an oversized maroon sweatshirt, shorts and Vans. Somehow she seems to be the most intimidating one at the table, although Lexi can’t pinpoint why on earth her brain thinks so.(It's a waitress AU)
Relationships: Rue Bennett/Lexi Howard
Comments: 14
Kudos: 129





	it's a foregone conclusion

**Author's Note:**

> This was sitting in my drafts for a couple of months so I figured I should just post it. Not my finest but the world needs more Lexi/Rue content, right? Happy Holidays. 
> 
> ne0nbible.tumblr.com if you want to chat about the first bridge ep or season two theories.

Lexi Howard always considered her life to be completely average in every way. Divorced parents, a middle-class upbringing, good grades, and a cheerleader sister just seem par for the course. Finding a job mere weeks after turning sixteen seemed to fit into the mold.

While most kids end up getting a part-time job to appease their parents, Lexi’s mother had never even mentioned the concept, but Lexi figured she might as well make some money during her downtime. She was never into partying that much anyways. That was her sister’s scene.

It’s not like she was going to regret missing out on a Friday night football game. She already sat through too many.

So when the small diner a few blocks away from home put up a “Help Wanted” sign, she figured it was fate. After a short interview process that seemed entirely too casual, Lexi was officially a server.

They schedule her to work a few nights during the week, plus Saturday mornings. It fits nicely into her routine.

* * *

Lexi’s first shift occurs on a semi-quiet Tuesday evening and she’s thankful that there doesn’t seem to be a dinner rush tonight. She spent the first hour shadowing one of the other servers, but as a new table of three is seated in a booth, she’s finally told that it’s her turn to fly solo.

Her first customers don’t seem to be very intimidating, thank god. Lexi makes the assumption that it’s a mother and her two daughters. One of them looks to be around Lexi’s age, she's wearing an oversized maroon sweatshirt, shorts and Vans. Somehow she seems to be the most intimidating one at the table, although Lexi can’t pinpoint why on earth her brain thinks so.

She doesn’t recognize the girl, so she must go to East Highland. The diner is located on the street that literally serves as a border between the homes of kids who go to East Highland and kids who go to Grant High with Lexi. She’s glad that she hasn’t had to deal with anyone from her school yet.

When Lexi approaches the table and asks to take their order, the girl her age is the first to speak.

“Can I get a patty melt, light on the onions. But onion rings instead of fries. Oh, and a side of ranch and bbq sauce,” she pauses for a moment, “Please?”

Lexi furiously writes everything down on her notepad, making sure that she didn’t miss anything.

“Got it.”

“Thanks,” the girl replies with a smile.

For whatever reason, it kind of makes Lexi melt a little bit. But whatever, she’s sure she will probably never see this person again.

The family finishes their meal relatively quickly and they tip her well.

Lexi finishes the rest of her shift that night without any noteworthy mistakes. It’s a success in her book.

* * *

Turns out, the girl from Lexi’s first shift seems to come in with her family once a week. By week twelve of Lexi’s employment, she’s sure that she has some sort of crush on this girl. She can’t really explain why though, after all, they don’t exactly talk beyond Please, Thank you, and Would you like a refill?

But it doesn’t really matter. It gives her something to look forward to at work, as silly as it seems. It gets her through the crappy shifts.

* * *

At some point, the mystery girl stops coming in with her mom on the weekends, and starts to show up after school during the week instead. Usually, her younger sister comes with her. At least, Lexi is still assuming it’s her sister because she doesn’t actually know, but they certainly act like a family unit.

Today, the pair have brought homework with them and have notebooks spread out across the table they’re sitting at. Lexi approaches with menus, even though their orders never seem to change enough to warrant looking at them.

“Hey, how are you two doing?” Lexi asks much more casually than her usual table greeting.

“Pretty good,” mystery girl responds, “How are you?”

“I’m good. Same as always,” Lexi replies, glancing around the dining area.

“Sorry we always seem to take over your section,” the other girl gestures to all of their books.

“Oh, don’t be. You guys are easy. I’ll take your table any day.”

The two girls sitting down exchange a glance.

“Sweet. I’m Rue, by the way. That’s Gia,” she motions to her sister, “We figured we’re here enough that you should know our names.”

“Oh, I’m Lexi.”

“We know,” Gia adds, nodding towards her name tag.

“Right. Forgot about that.”

“We haven’t seen you at East Highland, do you go to Grant?” Rue chimes back in.

“Yeah, I’m a Junior.”

“Me too,” Rue replies, “Gia will be a freshman next year.”

“Cool,” Lexi says, before snapping back into work mode, “Oh, what do you guys want to drink?”

“Coffee. Lots of coffee,” Rue answers.

“Homework’s that bad?” Lexi asks.

“Eh. I just have a caffeine addiction.”

“Sprite for me,” Gia chimes in.

“Great. I’ll grab those and be right back,” Lexi adds before walking back towards the drink station.

So, Rue. Her name is Rue. Lexi’s glad they are on a first name basis now. Like, she’s still just the waitress, but whatever. She can't wipe the smile off her face.

* * *

Rue continues to come into the diner pretty regularly. Sometimes Gia tags along with her, but Lexi has noticed that she’s been alone most of the time lately. She almost always brings homework with her, although sometimes she doesn’t seem to pay much attention to it.

She also orders the same thing every time. Apparently, Rue’s mom is a health food nut so she likes to take advantage of her opportunities to not eat at home. Lexi’s learned a lot of random facts about the other girl now that they usually end up chatting for a bit.

The moment Lexi spots Rue through the window today, walking down the street towards the diner, she puts her order in knowing it won’t change. She gets a cup of coffee on the table mere seconds before Rue walks in.

She heads back to the table with Rue’s order in hand a few minutes later, placing it down gently in front of the other girl.

“Hey,” Lexi says.

Rue looks down at the food before meeting her gaze again, “You’re like, amazing, you know that right?”

Lexi tries to keep herself from blushing, as if she has any control over it, “Just doing my job.”

The taller girl takes a bite out of an onion ring, “Well, thank you. You just made a shitty day slightly better.”

Lexi usually tries to not seem overly invested in Rue’s life but she can’t help herself from asking about the aforementioned shitty day.

“What’s going on?”

Rue sighs, “My mom is just on my case about my grades. I have a big test coming up and I’m not doing so well. Stupid shit.”

Lexi eyes the textbooks that sit next to the other girl’s food.

“In what class?”

“Pre-calculus,” Rue groans.

Lexi swallows, “I’m pretty good at math. I could try to help… if you wanted.”

Rue perks up a bit, but looks confused, “Don’t you have to work?”

“Yeah, but, you know in an hour it will be dead in here.”

Lexi knows that Rue has been around enough to realize that when she comes in during the week, most of the customers clear out after the diner rush. That’s why they get to talk so much these days.

“True,” the taller girl nods, “I mean, if you won’t get in trouble. I could use all the help I can get.”

Lexi’s a hard worker, which means that when it’s dead the owners usually don’t care if she sits down to talk for a little while. They know that if someone else comes in she will jump up and get back to work, which means she can definitely attempt to help with Rue’s homework.

“Okay,” Lexi smiles, “I’ll be back once it dies down.”

“Cool,” Rue nods.

* * *

True to her word, once most of the dinner customers are out the door, Lexi slides into the booth across from Rue. She helps walk the other girl through the problems that were assigned as homework, plus they do a few extra that were recommended as good practice for the upcoming test Rue mentioned earlier.

Rue actually catches on pretty quickly, so Lexi determines that she is either lying about getting bad grades or she just has a hard time focusing in class. She assumes the latter.

Once they’re done, Rue organizes the pages she has to turn in and writes her name at the top of the first piece of paper.

“Rue Bennett,” Lexi reads out loud as she stands up, “Now I can officially stalk you.”

She’s joking of course, but she has a moment of panic hoping that her comment doesn’t come across super weird.

Luckily, Rue chuckles.

“I forgot you didn’t know my full name. It’s weird, I feel like we’ve known each other forever sometimes.”

It’s nice to hear that Lexi isn’t the only one who feels that way, but Rue almost looks like she immediately regrets saying that out loud.

“What about you? Lexi…” Rue continues.

“Howard,” Lexi offers.

Rue doesn’t miss a beat, “Well, thanks for the help, Howard.”

“Anytime, Bennett.”

* * *

By the time Lexi gets home and showers, she discovers an unexpected Instagram notification on her phone.

_RueBennett17 has requested to follow you._

She hesitates for a moment. Her Instagram is pretty lame, it’s mostly random pictures of her and Cassie or scenery shots, but she doesn’t want to send the wrong message by ignoring the request. She accepts and immediately follows Rue back. Rue’s page isn’t private.

Rue doesn’t seem to post a lot but there are plenty of pictures of her with an assortment of friends, usually at parties. It confirms Lexi’s prior suspicions that the other girl is way too cool to hang out with someone like her. She doesn’t have a shot.

Not that she really thought she did anyway. After all, she’s just the girl who works at a place Rue happens to hang out at. They aren’t actually friends.

But Rue is the one who found her on social media as soon as she learned her last name.

That has to mean something, right?

* * *

Another day, another shift.

When Rue asks for a fourth refill of coffee in less than an hour, Lexi returns with a cup decaf without telling her. She isn’t sure that anyone needs that much caffeine this time of night, let alone someone of Rue’s size. Plus, she doesn’t seem like she’s slept much lately anyways.

“How’s it going?”

“The WiFi here sucks” Rue mutters, hastily clicking away on her laptop.

“I didn't even think we had WiFi,” Lexi replies, confused.

She’s never seen Rue bring a laptop before either, so, she feels like something must be up.

“Huh. Maybe you don’t,” Rue squints, “Well whoever’s network I’m on, it’s awful.”

Rue’s bouncing her leg so fast that Lexi is getting anxiety just watching her.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Rue says, taking a large gulp from her coffee mug.

She doesn’t make any comment about the decaf switch, so she must not notice. Lexi breathes a sigh of relief.

“I’m just trying to prove that this guy my friend is dating is evil,” Rue says casually, as if it’s a totally normal response.

“Oh,” Lexi replies, “Seems totally normal.”

Her sarcasm must be lost on Rue today.

“Right?” Rue agrees, “That’s what I said.”

Lexi knows that she isn’t exactly close to Rue and doesn’t know much about her beyond whatever random stuff they talk about once or twice a week when Rue comes in, but she can still sense that something is off. Rue seems like she’s having a manic episode or something, but Lexi doesn’t know how to help.

She decides that beyond the subtle switch to decaf, bringing over a large glass of water is just about all she can do for Rue right now.

* * *

Lexi heads straight to bed after getting home from her shift. She’s almost asleep when she hears her phone buzz on her nightstand. Against her better judgement, she grabs her phone to see who it is.

She didn’t expect an Instagram notification.

_RueBennett17: hey_   
_RueBennett17: you still up?_

Well, now Lexi is awake. She hates that her heart rate increases when she sees that its a message from Rue. She has to laugh a little bit at the other girl’s opening though.

_Did you just send me a “you up” message?_

_RueBennett17: omg, sorry_   
_RueBennett17: just realized i drank like 7 cups of coffee tonight_   
_RueBennett17: am i going to die or just never sleep again?_

_If I tell you something, promise you won’t hate me?_

_RueBennett17: did you murder someone?_   
_RueBennett17: jk, promise_

Lexi imagines Rue, just as jittery at before, laughing at her own jokes while she waits for the caffeine in her bloodstream to wear off.

_I switched you to decaf after your third refill, so you should survive._   
_Just know I did it because I care :)_

Is a smiley face overkill? Lexi doesn’t have much time to think about it because the reply comes immediately.

_RueBennett17: seriously????_   
_RueBennett17: honestly howard you are a lifesaver_   
_RueBennett17: this is why i tip you the big bucks lol_

Lexi breathes a sigh of relief. Although, the mention of Rue’s tips allows her to ask something that has been on her mind for awhile.

_Since you mentioned it.. you know you always overtip me right?_

_RueBennett17: is that a real thing?_   
_RueBennett17: plus i can’t have you spitting in my food_

_Ha ha. It’s really nice of you, I just don’t want you to feel obligated._   
_You left like 40% today. I feel bad taking your money._

_RueBennett17: i thought 40% was the new 20%_   
_RueBennett17: jk but seriously you deserve it_   
_RueBennett17: i usually take up a table for a loonnnng time_

_I’ll just start giving you free food to make up for it._

_RueBennett17: don’t you dare_

Lexi’s grinning like a fool. It’s borderline pathetic, really. But whatever. It’s the little things.

_RueBennett17: well i won’t keep you up_   
_RueBennett17: thank you for keeping me alive tonight_

_You’re welcome. Try to get some sleep okay?_

_RueBennett17: night lex_

So like. Lexi’s a goner. It’s official.

* * *

After their first conversation, Rue starts to message Lexi more often. Sometimes it’s about her passing a pre-calc test, sometimes it’s following up on a conversation they had at the diner, and sometimes it’s just to say hi. Lexi hopes that this at least puts them in friend territory, but she’s not so sure.

After all, neither one of them makes the move to ask the other to hang out like normal people. So maybe she’s just reading into things. She usually does.

* * *

Valentine’s Day falls on a Wednesday, which isn’t one of her usual shifts, but Lexi ends up working anyways. One of the other servers begged her to cover him for weeks and although she had no desire to help him, it’s not like she had other plans. The good news is that the diner isn’t exactly the type of place people take someone on a romantic date, so it’s pretty mellow.

At least, it’s mellow until Rue walks in with a leggy blonde that Lexi has never seen before in her life. Rue’s wearing a blazer and even has on a hint of makeup, which is also something that Lexi hasn’t seen once in the year that she’s worked at the restaurant.

So yeah. There’s that.

The pair sit down in Rue’s usual booth and Lexi wastes no time begging the other server working, an older woman named Sylvia, to take the table.

“But they’re in your section,” the woman responds, confused.

“I know, but can you please just deal with them? I’ll take whoever you get next,” Lexi pleads.

“Isn’t that your friend? Whats the big deal?”

Lexi isn’t trying to pour her heart out and explain her current emotions to this woman, so she just grabs two menus and heads over to the table with a huff. Time to put on her game face.

Once she reaches the table, she haphazardly flings the menus down, “Hi, how are you doing tonight?”

The second Rue looks up, a look of panic comes across her face. Which, when Lexi actually thinks about it, seems like an odd reaction.

“Um, hey, uh, I-I didn’t think you worked Wednesday nights,” Rue replies.

“I’m covering a shift.”

Rue’s date takes a moment to look between them before chiming in, “You two know each other?”

Lexi says “Not really” at the exact moment Rue says “Yeah,” which results in an extremely awkward silence.

The blonde girl raises an eyebrow at the exchange.

“Rue’s just a regular,” Lexi clarifies. She notices that the frown on Rue’s face deepens.

Rue’s date nods, “Oh! That’s why I made her bring me. She’s always hanging out here. I wanted to see what the hype was about. I’m Jules.”

Couldn’t Rue have persuaded this chick to go somewhere nicer on Valentine’s Day? Like, the diner? Really?

“Nice to meet you,” Lexi lies, “So, what can I get you to drink?”

“I’ll have a Coke,” Jules says happily.

Even though Lexi knows what Rue is going to say, she turns to her expectantly.

“Uh, Coffee,” Rue mumbles after a moment.

“Great. I’ll give you a minute to look over the menu,” Lexi adds before walking away.

At the drink station, Lexi fills a cup with Diet Coke instead of regular. She feels silly, given the fact that she’s totally jealous of this girl when she has no right to be. She isn’t even sure if she can consider Rue a friend. Rue doesn’t owe her anything. She hasn’t broken any promises because she never made any in the first place.

But Lexi’s still jealous.

Jealous enough to knowingly place the incorrect drink in front of Jules without feeling bad.

“Do you know what you want to eat?” Lexi asks after she returns to the table.

“Can I get the garden burger, but without cheese?” Jules asks.

“Sure.”

Lexi writes down 'extra cheese’ on the ticket. She can’t help herself.

Rue looks flustered as she grips the menu, “Can I, um, get, uh…”

“The usual?” Lexi interrupts eventually, wanting the interaction to end as soon as possible.

“Yeah, thanks,” Rue replies.

Lexi nods before walking away from the pair again.

She doesn’t dare go near the table until their food is ready, and once it is, she practically throws it down in front of them before bolting again. Lexi doesn’t care about her service level tonight, so she doesn’t even go back to ask how everything is.

She does see Jules scraping cheese off her burger though, which brings her a single moment of amusement before the guilt kicks in.

Once it’s obvious that the two are done eating, Lexi only returns to the table to drop the check and mutter a half-hearted, “Have a great night.” She hopes that Rue pays with cash like she normally does so that she doesn’t have to face them again.

That seems to be the case, because the pair head out moments later. When Lexi goes back to the table, she finds that Rue has tipped her just as much as she normally does, even though Lexi definitely does not deserve it.

It makes her feel like shit.

* * *

Lexi’s shift can’t end soon enough. By the time she clocks out and changes out of her uniform, it’s close to eleven. She heads outside, walking towards the bike rack.

“Hey,” comes a voice from the shadows.

Lexi tenses up at first but immediately relaxes when she looks over and sees that it’s just Rue, sitting on the curb at the edge of the parking lot.

Lexi squints, “What are you still doing here?”

Rue stands up, “I was waiting for you to be done.”

Which, okay, is definitely a turn of events that Lexi did not see coming tonight.

“Where’s Jules?” Lexi asks, because she just can’t help it.

“I took her home,” Rue starts to ramble, “My friends set us up. They wouldn’t stop pushing it. I said yes to shut them up, but, I shouldn’t have. There’s not going to be a second date.”

“Bummer,” the shorter girl deadpans.

“Uh, did I do something to piss you off?” Rue questions, fidgeting a bit.

“No?”

Technically Lexi’s not lying. Jealousy is different, right?

“Oh. You just seemed kind of… short tonight.”

Lexi frowns, “I was giving you and your date space.”

“Right,” Rue says, “But you, uh, you messed up her order. Twice. I’ve never seen you mess up an order.”

“Well, I’m not the cook,” Lexi responds defensively.

“I know. I just…” Rue gulps, “Did you, like, do it on purpose?”

“Why would I do that?”

It’s quiet for a moment and then it looks like Rue starts to say something several times, but she can’t manage to get anything out. She looks like she’s genuinely struggling, which makes Lexi want to bail her out. Lexi wonders what would happen if she just admitted that she has a thing for her, right here, right now. A weird burst of confidence flows through her. But before she can find out, Rue finally speaks again.

“I’m sorry. I’m like, overanalyzing everything. I must sound crazy.”

The thing is, she doesn’t. She’s just proving that she can read Lexi like a book. Not that Lexi has ever been good at hiding her emotions, like, at all.

Lexi sighs, “You’re not crazy.”

“My doctors would probably disagree with you.”

Lexi laughs a bit, before a serious expression reappears on her face. She knows she should say something, but she’s lost her nerve.

“Um, well, I’ll let you go,” Rue mumbles.

“Okay.”

Rue waves awkwardly before she heads off walking in the direction of her house.

Lexi unlocks her bike and curses under her breath. She definitely should have said something.

* * *

Rue doesn’t show up at the diner for two weeks. She doesn’t send any messages either.

Lexi’s kind of a mess. It’s stupid, really, but she is. She can’t sleep so she pulls out her phone and starts to type. Fuck it.

_You were right. I did it on purpose._

Luckily, Rue replies relatively quickly.

_RueBennett17: you did?_

Lexi’s glad she doesn’t need to clarify what she’s talking about, which also means it’s definitely the reason that she hasn't seen the other girl lately.

_I’m sorry. It was stupid. I feel really bad._

_RueBennett17: its okay_   
_RueBennett17: why though?_

_I guess I didn’t like seeing you on a date._

Lexi lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. It’s out there now. Whatever happens, at least she will know she took a risk for once in her life.

_RueBennett17: i shouldn't have let my friends pressure me into it_   
_RueBennett17: plus i would have never brought her there if i knew you were working_

_Why not?_

_RueBennett17: isn’t it obvious?_   
_RueBennett17: i like you lex_   
_RueBennett17: i mean i hang out at a diner by myself all the time just to see you.._

Lexi pinches herself to make sure that this isn’t a dream. It’s not.

(Even though deep down, she kind of knew something was going on with them.)

_Why didn’t you just ask me to hang out?_

_RueBennett17: why didn’t you ask me?_

_Good point._   
_We’re really bad at this, huh?_

_RueBennett17: yeah_   
_RueBennett17: but that’s why we go together_   
_RueBennett17: i’m going to need your phone number now_

Lexi smiles and responds with her number. Within seconds, Rue is calling her.

She asks Lexi out on a real date.

Lexi says yes.

* * *

There are only so many date options for high schoolers, especially in this town, but Rue ends up taking Lexi out rollerskating on their first date. It’s cute. Neither of them are particularly good, but they both manage to avoid falling. They have fun.

Rue bikes home with Lexi to make sure she gets there safely and kisses her in her driveway. Cassie spies on them through the window and Lexi feels like a normal teenager for the first time in a long time.

* * *

After a couple of months, Lexi decides to take less shifts at the diner. There’s more to life than constantly working or studying and she wants to enjoy the time she has with Rue.

She doesn’t know how long it will last, but she knows it’s worth it.


End file.
